Timothy R. Clifford, Sr. (born November 28, 1958) is a former American football player. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as a quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers football team from 1977 to 1980. He won the 1979 Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy in 1979 as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.

Early years

Clifford grew up in Cincinnati where he played football, basketball, baseball and track at Colerain High School.

Indiana University

Clifford attended the Indiana University Bloomington where he played varsity football and baseball. He was a pitcher for the baseball team and played at the quarterback position for the school's football team from 1977 to 1980. He became the school's all-time leader in passing yardage. In his four years at Indiana, Clifford completed 333 of 631 passes for 4,338 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions. As a junior, Clifford totaled 2,078 passing yards and led the

1979 Indiana Hoosiers football team The 1979 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Lee Corso, in ...

to an 8–4 record and the program's first victory in a bowl game, a 38–37 victory over BYU in the

1979 Holiday Bowl The 1979 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 21, 1979, in San Diego, California. It was part of the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the Indiana Hoosiers against the BYU Cougars. Indiana won 38–37. ...

. In September 1978, he completed 11 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns in a 49–7 victory over Colorado. During the 1979 season, Clifford set Indiana single-season records in pass attempts (259), completions (149), passing yardage (1,907 in regular season games), and total offense (1,978 yards in regular season games). At the end of the 1979 season, he won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. He was the first Hoosier to win the Silver Football since Corbett Davis in 1937. Despite being selected as the conference MVP, Clifford did not receive first- or second-team honors from the Associated Press, as Art Schlichter and Mark Herrmann won those honors. Clifford was a team co-captain in both 1979 and 1980 and was selected as Indiana's team MVP in both of those years. He led the East team to a 21–3 victory in the 1981

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

and shared offensive most valuable player honors with

Amos Lawrence Amos Lawrence (April 22, 1786 – December 31, 1852) was an American merchant and philanthropist. Biography Amos Lawrence was born in Groton, Massachusetts. Lawrence attended elementary school in Groton and briefly attended the Groton Academy. ...

. Clifford also played in the

Japan Bowl The Japan Bowl (in Japanese, ジャパンボウル) was a post-season college football all-star game played in Japan each January from 1976 to 1993, which showcased East and West all-star teams made up of college football players from the United S ...

. He was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in the 10th round of the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...

Later years and honors

Clifford was inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. Since 1999, he has been the business manager of St. Ann Church in Cincinnati.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Tim 1958 births Living people American football quarterbacks Indiana Hoosiers football players Players of American football from Cincinnati